Friday, 21 August 2015

Kelsea Ballerini Turns GOLD and “Dibs” is on the Up

Kelsea Ballerini - Album Art(C) Black River EntertainmentCLICK to Enlarge

New Single “Dibs”
Soars At Country Radio, Landing Top 30 & Climbing.

NASHVILLE, TN (August 20, 2015)– “Country’s Next Queen” (BILLBOARD) Kelsea
Balleriniis
shining bright with her first GOLD record for the #1 debut smash “Love Me Like You Mean It,” which has
been certified GOLD by the
RIAA for exceeding 500,000 sales and streams in the U.S. alone.

Basking in the precious milestone, Ballerini recently
opened up toROLLING STONEabout the rise of her record-breaking
chart-topper.

Poised to follow in the success of “Love Me Like You Mean It,” her current single – the catchy and
sassy “Dibs”(Kelsea Ballerini, Josh Kerr, Ryan
Griffin, Jason Duke)– is
already Top 30 and soaring at Country radio and has sold more than 66,000
units.

Stream on SPOTIFY (17.5
million Streams!)

The
singer/songwriter is hitting the road this summer playing major festivals,
headline club dates and select shows with Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Tim
McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and will join Dan + Shay’s JUST THE
RIGHT KIND OF CRAZY TOUR this fall.

Praised
byROLLING STONEas one of the “10 Artists You Need To
Know” from all genres and CMT’s Next Women of Country, Ballerini launched to
stardom with the release of her #1, breakout debut "Love Me Like You Mean
It." Abuzz with shout-outs from superstars Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood
and Little Big Town, she is the first solo female artist in nine years to hit
#1 with her debut country single and one of only 11 women to have ever hit the
top of the charts with a debut. Both “Love Me Like You Mean It” and “Dibs” are
featured on her debut albumTHE FIRST
TIME(Black
River Entertainment), co-produced by Forest Glen Whitehead and Jason Massey,
which landed Top 5 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart.

Kelsea
Ballerini (born September 12, 1993(age 21) started writing songs as a pre-teen
living on a farm in East Tennessee, but she had no idea where those songs might
fit. The lyrics and melody didn't sound like the pop music she listened to with
her friends.

The Tennessee native actually found her songwriting voice while mourning
the end of her parents' marriage. She started writing lyrics at 12-years-old,
as a means of escape.

Kelsea told ABC Radio, "What I was writing came out
country just 'cause that's who I am, but I did not listen to country
music."

That all changed when Kelsea heard Keith Urban's hit single
"Stupid Boy."

"I was like, 'What is this?'" Kelsea said.
"So, I went and got his record, Dixie Chicks and Sugarland and Taylor
Swift. Those four records were my introduction to country music."

Songwriting propelled Kelsea forward. At 15, she moved to Nashville with her mother to
pursue music. Her fresh sound builds on her East Tennessee upbringing and
musical influences ranging from Britney Spears to Kelly Clarkson to Frank
Sinatra.

Black River
Publishing VP Celia Froehlig signed the burgeoning artist to a
publishing deal in 2013. That December, at the company Christmas party, Black
River Entertainment CEO Gordon Kerr offered Kelsea a record deal in the form of
a wrapped present.

Kelsea made her Grand Ole Opry
debut on Valentine's Day 2015.

CLICK to ENLARGE

Photo
credit: Brad
Lovell

Courtesy of Iconic Entertainment

Following the performance of her top
30 single "Love Me Like You Mean It," the Knoxville native choked up
before performing her solo write, The
First Time, announcing it is also the title track of her debut album due
May 19, 2015. "I wrote this song a long time ago about learning the lesson
that sometimes the past should stay in the past,” said Kelsea.

On the Bilboard Country chart dated March 28, 2015 Kelsea’s Self titled EPsold
1,100 copies to debut at #40 Country

Kelsea Ballerini's breakout hit, "Love Me Like You Mean It," is just a taste of the country-pop
sound in her imaginative catalog. The Knoxville, Tennessee native has dedicated
the better part of the last decade to creating inspiring music, based on her
life, to motivate others to live without fear of their emotions.

Her full-length debut, THE FIRST TIME, has Kelsea's credit behind every
song. The album radiates positivity while exploring all facets of the human
experience. She is a true poet, and The First Time reflects that.

On the Billboard charts dated June 6, 2015 THE FIRST TIME
sold 13,465 copies to debut at #31 on the Billboard 200, #22 Top Albums Sales and #4 Billboard Country
albums. As of July 1st it has sold 33,100 copies

Kelsea Ballerini landed a #1
on both the Billboard
Country Airplay and Mediabase Charts.

"Love Me Like
You Mean It" (writers Kelsea Ballerini, Josh Kerr, Forest Glen
Whitehead, Lance Carpenter) was her debut single on the label (>> Video 7.8 million Views). She thus became the first Country female solo debut #1 since
Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take The Wheel" in January 2006!. Ballerini’s
#1 marked the first time a solo female has landed at #1 on the Billboard
Country Airplay chart in nearly three years since Carrie Underwood’s
"Blown Away" on Nov. 3, 2012!

BILLBOARD Article
CLICK to ENLARGE

“It's a very exciting
time for all of us at Black River,” said Vice President of Promotion Mike
Wilson. “It’s an honor to lead this promotion team in taking Kelsea to country
radio. Her music is great and radio has really embraced her. I’m so proud of
our team and all of their efforts. This is a huge accomplishment!”

On July 20, 2015 the Black River promo team landed 51 ADDS for Kelsea’s latest single “Dibs” (Black River Entertainment) topping
the week’s "Most Added" board on Mediabase.

On Billboard Country
Airplay it made a debut at No.59. On theChartissue week of August 8, 2015 Kelsea
had the fastest climbing song of the
week as “Dibs” made a nine point jump to #39.
The following week (Chart issue week of August 15, 2015) it bagged Most
Added honours at No.31 (35 ADDS). No.42 on Country Digital charts it had scanned

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